India’s rising star Divya shines at Asia Cup

Indian compound archer Divya Dhayal won her first major competition at the age of just 15, seeding first at the Taipei City stage of the 2017 Asia Cup before clinching gold by beating Fereshteh Ghorbani of Iran in the final.

“I was a little tense but I just tried very hard to concentrate in the match. Above all, I believe age is just a number and it doesn’t matter in archery,” she said.

Divya also took a gold medal in the mixed team event and silver in the women’s team in Taipei, while the skies above threatened to storm.

“That didn’t bother me at all,” she said about the weather. “During practice I shoot in the rain often. The weather in Chinese Taipei is quite like India’s, so I could handle it.”

With the second Asian Games to include compound archery just one year away, India’s compound and recurve athletes are gearing up to out-do the four-medal performance the nation recorded in the 2014 edition of the continental multi-sporting event.

Divya Dhayal is ranked number 21 in the world as of 14 July 2017.

Pictures and some quotes courtesy Chinese Taipei Archery Association and Tetsu Lee. The Taipei City stage of the 2017 Asia Cup ran 4-9 July.